NORTON SOUND SHAKTOOLIK AND UNALAKLEET SUBDISTRICTS CHINOOK SALMON STOCK STATUS AND ACTION PLAN A Report to the Alaska Board of Fisheries By: Wesley W. Jones Regional Information Report No. 3A03-38 Alaska Department of Fish and Game Division of Commercial Fisheries 333 Raspberry Road Anchorage, Alaska 99518 1 The Regional Information Report Series was established in 1987 to provide an information access system for all unpublished divisional reports. These reports frequently serve diverse ad hoc informational purposes or archive basic uninterpreted data. To accommodate needs for up-to-date information, reports in this series may contain preliminary data; this information may be subsequently finalized and published in the formal literature. Consequently, these reports should not be cited without prior approval of the author of the Division of Commercial Fisheries. AUTHOR Wesley W. Jones is the Assistant Area Management Biologist for the Norton Sound – Port Clarence Area and the Kotzebue Area, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries, P.O. Box 1148, Nome, AK 99762. Office Of Equal Opportunity (OEO) Statement The Alaska Department of Fish and Game administers all programs and activities free from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, or disability. The department administers all programs and activities in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility, or if you desire further information please write to ADF&G, P.O. Box 25526, Juneau, AK 99802-5526; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4040 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 300 Webb, Arlington, VA 22203; or O.E.O., U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington DC 20240. For information on alternative formats for this and other department publications, please contact the department ADA Coordinator at (voice) 907-465-4120, (TDD) 907-465-3646, or (FAX) 907-465-2440. i TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES.........................................................................................................................iii LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................iii Executive Summary........................................................................................................................ 1 Synopsis .......................................................................................................................................1 Stock Assessment Background....................................................................................................1 Fishery Management Background ...............................................................................................2 Commercial and Subsistence Fisheries...................................................................................2 Sport Fisheries ........................................................................................................................2 Stock Of Concern Recommendation .............................................................................................. 3 Outlook ........................................................................................................................................3 Alaska Board of Fisheries Action................................................................................................3 Escapement Goal Evaluation .......................................................................................................... 3 List of Current Goals and Proposed SEG for Subdistricts 5 and 6 Chinook Salmon Stocks ......4 Management Action Plan options for Addressing Stocks of Concern as Outlined in the Sustainable Fisheries Policy ........................................................................................................... 4 Norton Sound Subdistrict 5 and 6 Chinook Salmon Management Plan Review/Development..4 Current Stock Status ...............................................................................................................4 C&T Use Finding and the Amount Necessary .......................................................................4 Habitat Factors Adversely Affecting the Stock ...........................................................................5 Do New or Expanding fisheries on this Stock Exist....................................................................5 Existing Management Plan ..........................................................................................................5 Action Plan Development............................................................................................................... 5 Norton Sound Subdistrict 5 and 6 Chinook Salmon Action Plan Goal .......................................5 Action Plan Alternatives................................................................................................................. 5 Action 1........................................................................................................................................5 Action 2........................................................................................................................................7 Board of Fisheries Regulatory Proposals Addressing Norton Sound Subdistricts 5 and 6 Chinook Salmon Stock of Concern.................................................................................................7 Research Plan.................................................................................................................................. 7 Norton Sound Initiative and AYK Sustainable Salmon Initiative...............................................7 Research Projects.........................................................................................................................8 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................... 9 ii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Commercial, subsistence and sport chinook salmon harvests for Subdistricts 5 and 6, 1961-2003 .............................................................................................................................................10 2. Subdistricts 5 and 6 Management Actions...........................................................................................11 3. North River Tower Chinook Salmon count expanded to the Unalakleet Drainage...........................12 4. Exploitation of Unalakleet River drainage chinook salmon stocks....................................................12 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Norton Sound Commercial Salmon Fishing Districts and Subdistricts ............................................13 2. Map of Salmon Rivers in Norton Sound ............................................................................................14 3. Unalakleet Test Net Chinook Salmon Catch......................................................................................15 4. North River Chinook Salmon Escapement.........................................................................................15 5. Subdistricts 5 (Shaktoolik) and 6 (Unalakleet) Commercial Chinook Salmon Harvest...............16 6. Subdistricts 5 (Shaktoolik) and 6 (Unalakleet) Combined Chinook Salmon Harvest ................ 16 7. Subdistricts 5 (Shaktoolik) Chinook Salmon Harvest......................................................................17 8. Subdistricts 6 (Unalakleet) Chinook Salmon Harvest.......................................................................17 iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Synopsis In response to the guidelines established in the Sustainable Salmon Fisheries Policy (SSFP) 5 AAC 39.222, the department recommended designating the Norton Sound Subdistrict 5 (Shaktoolik) and Subdistrict 6 (Unalakleet) chinook salmon stock as a yield concern at the October 2003 Board work session. Since 1998, escapement goals have usually been met, but harvests have been severely restricted to do so. These restrictions resulted in an average commercial harvest of 695 fish per year for the five-year period (1999-2003), which is 90% below the previous 10-year harvest (1989-1998) of 7,131 (Table 1). Subsistence harvests during the period 1999-2002 declined 42% compared to the 1994-1998 period. In 2003, there was no commercial harvest of chinook salmon and the subsistence harvest is anticipated to be below average because of inseason restrictions. Therefore, during the past five years there has been a chronic inability to maintain near average yields despite specific management actions taken annually. Stock Assessment Background The Norton Sound District is composed of six commercial fishing subdistricts (Figure 1). Most subdistricts have several rivers where subsistence fishing occurs and except for the Nome Subdistrict there are few restrictions (Figure 2). The salmon harvests for subsistence uses in Norton Sound have gradually increased since statehood, but have remained stable the last decade. Commercial harvests have decreased for salmon in many subdistricts the last few years, but escapements have not increased in response to less fishing pressure. Throughout Norton Sound a number of salmon